Reversely tipping drain board



April 10, 1962 L. D. ORSER 3,028,741

REVERSELY TIPPING DRAIN BOARD Filed April 19, 1960 Egnf /3 i l W WW '1 /0 Ll I k l I U /Z :Ej g

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mmvrox Lawrence D. Orser ,741 REVERSELY TIPPING DRAIN BOARD 7, Lawrence D. Orser, Waterloo, Iowa, assignor to Chamberlain Corporation, Waterloo, Iowa, a corporation of Iowa Filed Apr. 19, 1960, Ser. No. 23,253 Claims. (Cl. 68-254) This invention relates to improvements in wring'ers for clothes and the like and more particularly relates to a simplified actuator for tipping the drain board of the wringer in accordance with the direction of rotation of the wringer rolls.

A principal object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved form of actuator for a drain board for a wringer, for automatically tipping the drain board in accordance with the direction of rotation of the wringer rolls.

A further object of the invention is to improve upon the actuators for automatically reversely tipping the drain boards of wringers in accordance withthe direction of rotation of the wringer rolls, by extending a loop of rubber-like material from the drain board into engagement with the lower wringer roll and by so constructing and arranging the rubber-like material as to impart a maximum degree of flexibility thereto to assure positive automatic tipping of the drain board as the direction of rotation of the wringer rolls is reversed.

A still further object of the invention is to improve upon the actuators for automatically tipping the drain boards of clothes wringers and the like by utilizing a rectangular sheet of rubber-like material tapering from one end to the other and from one side to the other from a common corner, to increase the flexibility of the sheet, by forming the sheet into the form of a loop with the free ends clamped to the drain board along opposite sides of the axis of rocking movement of the drain board, and by yieldably engaging the looped portion of the sheet with the lower wringer roll.

These and other objects of the invention will appear. from time to time as the following specification proceeds and with reference to the accompanying drawing wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a view in front elevation of a clothes wringer having the improved form of drain board and actuator of the invention embodied therein;

FIGURE 2 is a transverse sectional view taken substantially along lines l.lII of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a plan view of the sheet of resilient material forming the actuator for the drain board;

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view taken substantially along line IVIV of FIGURE 3 and showing the taper of the material from one side to the other; and

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view taken substantially along line VV of FIGURE 3 and showing the taper of the material from one end to the other.

In the illustrative form of the invention shown in the drawings, I have shown a wringer frame 19 having stiles or side frame members 11 forming supports for a pair of wringer rolls 12 and 13, suitably journalled in said side frame members 11 at their opposite ends, in a conventional manner. The wringer rolls may be power driven in any well known manner and may be yieldably pressed into engagement with each other to wring water from the clothes passing therebetween, in a manner well known to those sldlled in the art, so not herein shown or described further.

A drain board 15 is shown as being mounted between the inner sides of the stiles 11 for tipping or rocking movement about an axis parallel to axes of rotation of the wringer rolls, on transverse pivot pins 16 extending through opposite upright sides 17 of the drain board.

3,928,741 Patented Apr. 10, 1962 The actuator for tilting the drain board in accordance with the direction of rotation of the wringer rolls is shown as comprising a relatively wide loop 19 of rubber, or one of the well known substitutes for rubber, clamped at its free ends to the drain board and having yieldable eng'agement with the lower wringer roll.

As shown in FIGURES 3, 4 and 5, the loop 19 is formed from a flat sheet of rubber or rubber-like material tapering from a common point from one side to the other and from one end to the other as shown in FIGURES 4 and 5. The taper of the rubber-like material from which the loop 19 is formed, gives added flexibility to the loop and accommodates the loop to have wiping engagement with the lower wringer roll when the drain board is in a tilted drain posit-ion and to move past center when the direction of rotation of the wringer roll is reversed, to instantaneousiy flip the drain board in accordance with the direction of rotation of the lower wringer roll. Spaced stops 20, 2 0 are provided to limit tilting movement of the drain board in each direction of movement thereof.

As shown in FIGURE 2, a channel 21 extends transversely across the transverse center of the drain board 15 and upwardly therefrom and is secured thereto as by machine screws 22. Opposite ends of the loop 19 extend along opposite sides of the channel 21 and are abutted at their outsides by retainer plates 23 clamping opposite ends of the loop 19 to opposite sides of the channel 21. The channel 21 forms a spacer for opposite end portions of the loop 19 maintaining said end portions-in a definite spaced relation with respect to each other to give the loop 19 good contact with the lower wringer roll, and to assure a most eflicient leverage arrangement between said loop and the lower wringer roll to flip the drain board in one direction or another in accordance with the direction of rotation of the wringer rolls, and to maintain the drain board in its flipped or tilted position by the wiping action of the loop 19 on the lower wringer roll.

It may be seen from the foregoing that a simplified form of flexible actuator has been provided for automatically flipping the drain board of a wringer in accordance with the direction of rotation of the wringer rolls, to assure the draining of Water wrung from the clothes into a laundry tub or the like, and that the posi tiveness and response of the action of flipping the drain board, to reversal of rotation of the wringer rolls is enhanced by the connection of the loop to the drain board with the lower ends of the loop in spaced relation with respect to each other, to assure the proper contact of the loop with the lower wringer roll and the most efficient leverage between the loop and drain board, aswell as by the taper of the material from which the loop is made tapering from a common point from end to end and from side to side, materially increasing the flexibility of the loop.

While I have herein shown and described'one form in which my invention may be embodied, it should be understood that various modifications and variations in the invention may be attained without departing from the spirit and scope of the novel concepts of the invention, as defined by the claims appended hereto.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a wringer, a frame, wringer rolls mounted on said frame, a drain board rockably mounted on said frame beneath said wringer rolls, and means for tilting said drain board to drain water wrung from the clothes to either side of said frame in accordance with the direction of rotation of said wringer rolls, comprising a loop of relatively wide rubber-like material having opposite end portions secured to said drain board on opposite sides of the axis of rocking movement thereof, and

in spaced relation with respect to each other, and extending vertically from said drain board into yieldable wiping engagement with the lowermost of said wringer rolls, said loop of rubber-like material tapering from one end. to the other and from one side to the other to enhance the flexibility of the material and increase the response to the reversal in the direction of rotation of said wringer rolls.

2. In a wringer, a frame, wringer rolls mounted on: said frame, a drain board rockably mounted on said frame beneath said wringer rolls for tilting movement with respect to said wringer rolls about an axis extending parallel to the axes of said wringer rolls, a bar extending transversely of said drain board along the axis of rocking movement thereof and upwardly therefrom, a rectangular sheet of rubber-like material abutting opposite sides of said bar at its free ends, and means clamping the free ends of said sheet to said bar and forming said sheet into a loop wider at its top than its bottom having yieldable wiping engagement with the lower of said wringer rolls, said sheet tapering from one end to the other and from one side to the other to increase the flexibility of said 5 eet and increase the response to the reversal in the direction of rotation of said wringer rolls.

3. In a reversely tilting drain board for Wringers and the like having a frame and oppositely rotatable wringer rolls mounted thereon, a rocakable mounting for said drain board mounting said drain board for tilting move ment about an axis extending parallel to the axes of rotation of said wringer rolls, and an actuator for said drain board automatically tilting said drain board in accordance with the direction of rotation of said wringer rolls comprising a flat sheet of rubber-like material formed into a loop and clamped to said drain board at its free ends on opposite sides of the axis of rocking movement thereof, and extending upwardly from said drain board into yieldable engagement with the lowermost of said wringer rolls, said sheet of rubber-like material tapering from one end to the other and from one sideto the other, to increase the flexibility of said sheet and thereby increase the response to the reversal in the direction of rotation of said wringer rolls.

4. An actuator for the rockable drain board for a wringer and the like, having a pair of wringer rolls rotatable about axes parallel to the axis of rocking movement of the drainboard, comprising a bar extending along the drain board and upwardly therefrom and having parallel faces spaced from opposite sides of the axis of rocking movement of the drain board, a flat sheet of rubber tapering from one end to the other and from one side to the other from a comtnon corner, and retainer plates clamping opposite ends of said sheet to opposite faces of said bar and forming said sheet into a loop having wiping engagement with the lowermost of said wringcr re] s.

5. In a wringer, a frame, wringer rolls mounted on said frame, a drain board rockingly mounted on said frame beneath said wringer rolls, and means for tilting said drain board to drain water wrung from the clothes to either side of said frame in accordance with the direction of rotation of said wringer rolls, comprising a loop of relatively wide rubber-like material clamped to said drain board and extending vertically from said drain board into yieldable wiping engagement with the lowermost of said Wringer rolls, said loop of rubber-like material being Wider at its top than at its bottom and tapering from one end to the other and from one side to the other, to increase the tlexibiilty of said loop and thereby increase the response to the reversal in the direction of rotation of said wringer rolls.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,011,015 Schleicher Aug. 13, 1935 2,051,668 Zaiger Aug. 18, 1936 2,207,651 Batchelder July 9, 1940 2,266,498 Kauffman Dec. 16, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS 596,747 Great Britain Jan. 9, 1948 

